Warwickshire Men continued their fine run of form to beat Durham and Cleveland by the narrowest of margins 5-4 in Group 5 of the Aegon County Cup at Felixstowe and keep their promotion hopes alive. The entire result hinged on the final rubber and captain Nathan Rooney from Solihull made the canny substitution of Coventry coach Simon Ferguson, for the inexperienced Luke Simkiss, 18, to partner the veteran of the side, Steve Lee, 36, playing in his 19th County Week. The ‘old stagers’ kept their nerve to squeak through in two tight sets against the Durham third pair and clinch a cliff-hanger. Earlier Rooney and Birmingham’s junior international Luke Hammond, 19, had beaten the second and third pairs but narrowly lost to the top Durham partnership. Warwickshire thirds Cameron Malik and Oliver Nolan also helped to ensure victory as they not only beat their opposite numbers but outhit the Durham second pair in straight sets. With three wins under their belts so far, they now need victory over the powerful Leicestershire team to ensure the coveted promotion to Group 4, so the last-ditch win against Durham has provided a timely confidence boost.
“It was a great team effort,” said Nathan Rooney. “Durham were a tough side and their top pair is one of the strongest partnerships here but we’re all thrilled that Simon and Steve managed to pull off the crucial win with everything riding on it. Cameron Malik and Oliver Nolan really grafted for their two victories and combined together superbly although they’re a scratch pair and this is Oliver’s first County Week. Fingers crossed we can keep the momentum going against Leicestershire tomorrow.”
Warwickshire’s depleted women’s side struggled against Hertfordshire in the elite group of the Aegon County Cup at Eastbourne. Despite their heroics, however, the Midlanders went down 3-6 in blustery conditions, then lost to unbeaten Kent, leaving them fighting for Group 1 survival. In the first match, sets were reduced to four games and tiebreak deciders following Wednesday’s wash-out after the opening round. Hertfordshire’s classy top pairing of Amanda Elliott and junior international Emily Arbuthnott proved invincible, retaining their unbeaten record for the week and although captain Katie Shaw rejigged her pairings, bringing in Katie Malazonia, 18, to partner the bubbly Anane, giving the injured Luisa Cowper a much-needed rest, the only rubbers the Midlanders could snatch were against the Herts thirds. Natasha Hillyer, again paired with 17-year-old Summer Yardley from Solihull, rallied consistently and encouraged the big-hitting youngster to keep attacking, whitewashing the Herts third pair love and love, but found the extra experience of the top Herts pairs too much to handle. The consistent Manisha Foster hit out bravely, while her partner Leyla Ogan showed exquisite touch as they squeaked through two tiebreaks to beat the third pair, knowing that every rubber could prove crucial to the county’s survival in Group 1.
Kent, led by former British star Naomi Cavaday and with real strength in depth are strongly tipped for the title but Warwickshire battled grittily and after trailing 0-3 after the first round of rubbers, lost only 4-5. The inexperienced third pair of Katie Malazonia and Summer Yardley from Solihull managed a stunning second set fightback from 1-5 down against their opposite numbers to level at set-all but were outhit frustratingly in the sudden death championship tiebreak decider. Anane, now partnering Manisha Foster failed to make much impression on the Kent second pair Holly Richards and Nell Miller but then pulled off the upset of the day, beating Cavaday and Green with a composed performance in the deciding tiebreak. They then dismissed the thirds with a fine display of flair and teamwork as did Hillyer and Leyla Ogan, for the loss of just 3 games then used clever strategy to snatch a nerve-wracking championship tiebreak decider against the second pair.
In the rest of the highly-competitive group, Middlesex strengthened by British international Harriet Dart pulled off an upset victory over reigning champions Surrey, then narrowly beat Lancashire so Warwickshire will definitely need an emphatic win over Lancs today (Friday) and will also need Hertfordshire to beat Middlesex to have a chance of avoiding relegation. Unbeaten Kent are tipped to beat Surrey to take the title.